The Boy Who Followed Ripley

It’s almost as if Highsmith wants to see how much nonsense we can take. Book 4 of the Ripley series is almost completely unbelievable from beginning to end, but extremely entertaining. I think readers of the series gave up hoping for realism in book 2, happily trading their bullshit radar for an enchanting tale that takes them anywhere but here.

This one is about a young American boy who pushes his rich, disabled father off a cliff and flees to France, enamored with Ripley based on some newspaper accounts he’s read. The boy takes a job as an underpaid gardener and gazes longingly at Ripley’s house until he’s discovered and invited in. Then, kidnapping! For a ransom of $2M USD! And Ripley doesn’t find a way to weasel any of the money, simply rescues his pal after dressing in drag (WTF!) and only killing one of the kidnappers. The ransom money is dutifully sent back to the various Berlin banks it came from, and Ripley’s paternal attitude toward Frank continues all the way until Frank jumps off the very cliff he shoved his dad from.

None of it is remotely believable, but it’s easy on the eyes (and the brain).